COMMON EYE CONDITIONS AND RECOMMENDED TREATMENT

Although eye diseases often come with age and genetics, lifestyle and regular eye health monitoring also play a role in these common eye conditions:

Cataracts

• What is it: Cataracts are clouding of the eyes’ lens that blocks or changes the passage of light into the eye. If a cataract forms and the lens becomes covered in an opaque film, light cannot pass through easily. The result will be fuzzy vision, almost like looking through a fogged-up window. If cataracts are not treated, most vision may be eventually lost.

• Symptoms: Early symptoms of a cataract may include cloudy or blurry vision. Lights may cause a glare, seem too dim or too bright. Sufferers may also find it difficult to read or drive, especially at night. Individuals may have to change their eyeglass prescriptions often.

Causes/risk factors: The primary risk factor for developing cataracts is age. The older a person is, the greater their risk. However, there are several other risk factors as well, including UV light, diabetes, genetics, high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and prolonged use of corticosteroid medications.

Treatment: There are no medications or other treatment options besides surgery to correct cataracts. In the United States, cataract surgery has a 95 percent success rate and patients often have 20/20 or 20/40 vision post-surgery according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Glaucoma

What is it: Glaucoma is the name for a group of diseases in which fluid builds up inside one or both eyes, increasing the internal pressure and eventually damaging the optic nerve. If left untreated, people with glaucoma slowly lose their peripheral vision. Over time, central vision can also deteriorate.

Symptoms: “I call glaucoma the silent robber of vision,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lozier, an ophthalmologist with Arch Health Partners/Palomar Health. “With glaucoma there is no pain, no symptoms. You don’t know it’s happening until you start to lose your peripheral vision.”

Causes/risk factors: People at high risk for glaucoma are African Americans older than 40, cigarette smokers, diabetics, individuals on steroids and everyone over age 60.

There is no cure for glaucoma, and lost vision cannot be restored. But if it’s detected early, medicine and laser or surgical treatments may save the remaining vision. Eyedrops that reduce eye pressure are the mainstay of glaucoma treatment.

Macular degeneration

What is it: Macular degeneration is the degeneration of the central part of the retina, where your reading vision is located.

There are two forms of age-related macular degeneration. In dry AMD, cells in the macula (the part of the eye involved in sharp, central vision) break down, gradually blurring central vision. In wet AMD, the abnormal overgrowth of blood vessels leaks blood and fluid, leading to a loss of central vision.

Symptoms: People with age-related macular degeneration complain of vision distortion and see straight lines as wavy lines.

Causes/risk factors: Factors that may increase the risk of macular degeneration include age (most common after 65), smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and elevated cholesterol.

Treatment: Nothing has been shown to prevent vision loss from advanced cases of dry AMD. However, the National Eye Institute recommends that people with moderate dry AMD take supplements that combine high doses of vitamins C and E and beta carotene with copper and zinc to help delay and possibly prevent the disease’s progression.

Wet AMD cannot be cured. Doctors use lasers and other techniques to treat fragile, leaky vessels. Drugs can block the growth of such blood vessels, help slow vision loss and even improve vision.

Dry eye syndrome

What is it: Dry eye is a condition in which there are insufficient tears to lubricate and nourish the eye. People with dry eyes either do not produce enough tears or have a poor quality of tears.

Symptoms: People with dry eyes may experience symptoms of irritated, gritty, scratchy or burning eyes, a feeling of something in their eyes, excess watering and blurred vision. Advanced dry eyes may damage the front surface of the eye and impair vision.

Causes/risk factors: age, menopause, antihistamines and decongestants; rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and thyroid problems; exposure to smoke, wind and dry climates; failure to blink regularly when staring at a computer screen; long-term use of contact lenses, and refractive eye surgeries, such as LASIK.

Conjunctivitis

What is it: Conjunctivitis (pink eye) is an inflammation or infection of the transparent membrane (conjunctiva) that lines the eyelid and covers the white part of the eyeball. When small blood vessels in the conjunctiva become inflamed, they’re more visible.

Symptoms: The whites of the eyes appear reddish or pink, along with irritation, tearing and sensitivity to sun.

Causes/risk factors: Conjunctivitis is commonly caused by a bacterial or viral infection, an allergic reaction, or — in babies — an incompletely opened tear duct.

Treatment: Conjunctivitis caused by bacteria, including those related to STDs, is treated with antibiotics. Viral conjunctivitis can be caused by the same viruses that cause a common cold. Just as a cold must run its course, so must this form of pinkeye.